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4 comments:

I think it's too much. With high unemployment at all levels, the job market is not so tight that this type of salary needs to be offered to get quality talent. Are the Girl Scouts run more efficiently? The pay discrepancy is a big red flag for me.

Interesting, but one sided, and frankly incomplete without a framing the discussion in the context of performance or results. The assumption seems to be that there is nothing that is worth that level of compensation, and that nonprofit employees should expect below average compensation for their effort, i.e. nonprofits should only attract talent that is willing to forgo significant lifetime compensation. Without arguing the specifics of the BSA, I'd reject that as a valid premise as one that ultimately undermines the long term outcomes in the social sector.

When the head of the Boy Scouts makes double the amount of other heads of prominent national human service organizations, added to the perks and luxuries, it adds up to a lot of wasted money.

This group has been historically defensive and secretive about their lavish compensations and spending.

A few years ago the BSA tried to buy land in a sensitive area up by Aspen, CO for a "camp". Along with significant structures, were to be concrete pads for tent placement, so the boy scouts wouldn't have to spend the time to find a spot and pitch their tents. That led to a public outcry and questions about what the Boy Scouts of America was actually teaching their youth.

In response to Tracy’s criticism of the use of concrete pads for tent sites. The Boy Scout’s goal is to produce good citizens and teach life skills in a fun, protected environment. The vast majority of Boy Scouts are urban and suburban youth who have no concept of self sufficiency. Thus the purpose of camping is to expose them to nature and to teach respect for the environment, while taking care of themselves by doing fun activities such as erecting shelters, cooking meals, making fires, tying knots, telling stories and entertaining each other in a semi primitive environment, with no distractions from our electronic world.

The purpose of Boy Scout camping is not to teach wilderness survival and wilderness survival techniques can be very destructive to the environment. Boy Scout camps are very heavily used and if they scouted for pristine camp sites in order to pitch their tents and harvest their own firewood, they would soon destroy the environment. That’s why all heavily used campgrounds (such as state and federal parks) use tent platforms and provide firewood. The Boy Scouts are to be lauded for their environment sensitivity that the proposed Aspen campground use concrete tent platforms rather than criticize them for mollycoddling the boys.